Mariners VS Tampa Game Info

Felix Hernandez is pitching tonight, looking to become the Mariners all-time leader in wins

Today’s Game Notes

AS YOU KNOW…Robinson Canó is hitting .315 (153×485) with 75 runs, 22 doubles, 1 triple, 31 home runs and 90 RBI with a .557 slugging percentage in his last 120 games (since June 22, 2015)…BUT DID YOU KNOW?…that the Mariners boast two players who have hit 30+ home runs in that time span?…Nelson Cruz has also hit 30 home runs in that span…Seattle is one of four teams with 2+ players with 30+ home runs in that time, joining Baltimore (Chris Davis & Manny Machado), Colorado (Nolan Arenado & Carlos Gonzalez) & Toronto (Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista & Edwin Encarnacion).

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners open a 2-team, 6-game homestand vs. Tampa Bay (3 G, Mon-Wed) and Los Angeles-AL (3 G, Fri-Sun)…returned home last night after a 5-2, 7-game, two-city road trip in which they swept Oakland (3-0) and split four games vs. the Houston Astros (2-2)…tonight’s game will be televised in the Mariners TV market on ROOT SPORTS NW and broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners are 13-6 in their last 19 games, 16-7 in their last 23 games since a 5-game losing streak…are 5-7 at home, but 13-6 on the road.

· Runs/Game – the Mariners are averaging 4.35 runs per game, ranking 6th in the American League.

· Goodbye Baseball – The Mariners homered in 9 straight games April 21-30, their longest streak this season…their 25 home runs since April 21 rank 2nd in the Majors behind New York (26).

· For Openers – the Mariners are 6-4 in the first game of a series; 12-9 in all other games.

· Batting Around – the Mariners have batted around (10 men to plate) once this season (4/5 at TEX).

· 1-Run Games – Seattle has won 6 straight 1-run decisions, and are 7-5 in 1-run games this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK…Robinson Canó was named American League Player of the Week (May 2-8) today…during the week, he hit .516 (16×31) with 8 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 9 RBI and a 1.516 OPS…this is his 7th Player of the Week honor, and his first with the Mariners.

MARINERS ALL-TIME WINS LEADER…Felix Hernandez is pitching tonight, looking to become the Mariners all-time leader in wins…Hernandez is currently tied with Jamie Moyer at 145 career wins…Hernandez is already the club leader in starts (340) and strikeouts (2,171).

GOING FISHING…in his career against the Rays at Safeco Field, Felix Hernandez is 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA (13 ER, 74.0 IP) with 76 strikeouts in 10 starts…overall, he is 7-2 with a 1.90 ERA (24 ER, 113.2 IP) with 124 strikeouts in 15 career starts…the Mariners are 12-3 in those 15 starts…has allowed 1 run or fewer in 11 of those 15 starts…tossed the 23rd perfect game in MLB history vs. TB on Aug. 15 2012 (9.0,0,0,0,0,12)…recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts on June 8, 2014 at TB (ND,7.0,4,0,0,1,15).

VS. SOUTHPAWS…the Mariners have won each of the last 3 games started by opposing left-handers, beating Dallas Keuchel on April 26 & May 7 and Sean Manaea on May 4…Seattle is 5-5 this season in games started by opposing lefties…Seattle is tied for the Major League lead with 16 home runs against left-handed pitchers, along with Arizona and Colorado.

LEFT IS RIGHT…the Mariners will face a left-handed starter tonight and tomorrow…Robinson Canó & Kyle Seager have both hit 3 home runs against left-handers this season, tied for the most in the Majors (also: Michael Saunders)…since the start of 2015, no left-handed hitter in the Majors has hit more home runs against left-handers than Seager (16) and Canó (12).

NICE LITTLE ROAD TRIP…the Mariners went 5-2 on the recently completed 7-game road trip through Oakland (3-0) and Houston (2-2)…Seattle has returned home with winning marks on all three road trips this season (2-1 at TEX, 6-3 during the New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles-AL swing, and 5-2 on this last trip).

QUITE THE START…Mariners are 18-13 through the first 31 games of the season…this is T5th-best start in club history through 31 contests…the 18 wins trails only the Mariners clubs from 2001 (23-8), 2002 (22-9), 2003 (20-11), 1997 (19-12) and tied with 1995 (18-13)…the 2015 Mariners were 14-17 after 31 games.

TOP-6 RECORD…the Mariners are 18-13 and have the 3rd-best record in the American League and 6th-best in the Majors…the only teams with better marks are Chicago-NL (24-6), Chicago-AL (22-10), New York-NL (19-11), Washington (19-12) & Baltimore (18-12)…Seattle leads its division at the 31-game mark for the first time since 2003 when the Mariners were 20-11 and 1.0 game ahead of Oakland.

SEAGER SWINGING…Kyle Seager has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games since April 24…during the 14-game span, he’s hitting .358 (19×53) with 9 runs, 5 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 13 RBI and 1.215 OPS…in his first 16 games of the season, hit .127 (8×63) with 9 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and .479 OPS.

30 ROCK…Robinson Canó has recorded 33 RBI in the Mariners first 31 games this season…the only Mariners player with more RBI through the team’s first 31 games is Ken Griffey Jr. (35 in 1997)…the Mariners record through the first 32 games of the season is held by Griffey Jr. (35 in 1997) and is followed by Alex Rodriguez (33 in 2000) & Canó this season.

1-RUN MADNESS…the Mariners won 3-2 Saturday night in 10 innings and have won each of their last 6 one-run games, including three during the recent trip (May 2 at OAK, May 4 at OAK & May 7 at HOU)…Seattle is 7-5 in one-run games overall this season.

2-OUT, SO WHAT?! REVIVAL…of the 135 runs scored by Seattle in 2016, 58 have come with two outs (34 with zero outs & 43 with 1 out)…the 58 two-out runs are the most in the A.L. ahead of Detroit (57) and 6th in Majors: St. Louis (72), Chicago-NL (67), Washington (64), Pittsburgh (62) & San Francisco (61).

GETTING SERIE-OUS…Seattle split its series in Houston this past weekend, but had won 6 straight series before that (2-1 at NYY, 2-1 at CLE, 2-1 at LAA, 2-1 vs. HOU, 2-1 vs. KC, 3-0 at OAK)…Seattle is 7-2-1 overall in series this season…the Mariners last won at least 6 straight series when they won 6 consecutive series from May 18-June 5, 2011…in that stretch: vs. LAA: 2-0, at SD: 3-0, at MIN: 2-1, vs. NYY: 2-1, vs. BAL: 2-1, vs. TB: 3-1.

Today in Mariners History (May 9)

· 1977 – In the first meeting ever between expansion cousins Seattle and Toronto, the Blue Jays dealt the Mariners a 12-4 loss.

· 1981 – Tom Paciorek’s dramatic, 9th-inning home run off Ron Davis led the Mariners to a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees before a Bat Night crowd of 51,903. It’s the second straight night for Paciorek as the hero.

· 1986 – Dick Williams is named the sixth manager of the Seattle Mariners, replacing Chuck Cottier. Williams is signed to a three-year deal.

· 1986 – Alvin Davis, in the middle of a 14-game hitting streak (May 1-14, career-high), set a Mariners single-game record, and an AL season best with 8 RBI, going 3-for-4, including a grand slam and a three-run HR, his first-ever multiple home run game, as the Mariners topped Toronto 13-3 at the Kingdome.

· 1988 – Alvin Davis was named AL Player of the Week for the week May 2-8 with four home runs, including a grand slam.

· 1997 – Joey Cora ties a Mariners record with five hits in an 8-2 win at Baltimore. He also hits his first-ever home run from the right side of the plate off reliever Arthur Rhodes.

· 2002 – The Mariners set club records with 16 walks and 6 stolen bases in an 8-7, 11 inning win vs. Toronto. Down 7-4 in the 9th, they tie the game on three hits and two walks. Seattle wins it with three consecutive two-out walks in the 11th inning.

· 2014 – The Mariners allowed 16 hits, all singles, setting the club record for most hits allowed without an extra-base hit. Brandon Maurer allowed 14 hits in a career-high 7.1 innings, and became the first pitcher since 1918 to have an outing allowing 14 or more hits, without a strikeout, walk or extra-base hit.

· 2015 – Lloyd McClendon recorded his 100th win as Mariner manager in a 7-2 victory over Oakland at Safeco Field…Mariners pitchers struck out 13 batters, marking the second time in as many games recording 13+ and the 11th time in franchise history recording back-to-back games with 13+ strikeouts…Nelson Cruz was 2-for-3 with an RBI, giving him an AL-leading 27 on the season.

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